When billing for a toll-free telephone call, the service switching point (SSP) handling the toll-free telephone call queries a service control point (SCP) to determine where (i.e., which terminating telephone number) to route the toll-free telephone call. The SCP returns routing instructions to the SSP as to how the toll-free call is to be routed. The SSP then routes the telephone call to the telephone number indicated by the SCP. Upon the telephone call being answered at the terminating telephone number location, the SSP maintains information including the calling party telephone number, the terminating telephone number, how long the telephone call lasts, and the toll-free telephone number. This information is used when billing the toll-free telephone number holder for the charges incurred on their toll-free telephone number.
Often, a company may provide a single, nation-wide, toll-free telephone number for use in contacting its many divisions and/or departments. Calling that toll-free telephone number typically results in an automatic transfer to another toll-free telephone number that is more appropriate for the particular calling party. For example, a transfer to a toll-free telephone number corresponding to a company division that may be geographically appropriate for serving the calling party may occur, transparent to the calling party. In the alternative, the calling party may be provided, via a company operator or an Interactive Voice Response Unit, the option of selecting a particular department of the company, such as customer service, to which the toll-free telephone call is transferred. In such cases, billing for the entire toll-free telephone call is charged to the nation-wide toll-free telephone number. Such billing renders it difficult for the company to allocate charges for the nation-wide toll-free telephone number to the various divisions or departments of the company to which the call was transferred.
In some circumstances, a company may provide multiple toll-free telephone numbers that may be used by customers to contact various departments or divisions of the company. Calls to each toll-free telephone number are billed to the company via the respective toll-free telephone number dialed. However, especially where the company desires all toll-free telephone billings to be handled by a common company division or department, telephone billing in such fashion renders it difficult for the company to collect all billings at the common division or department.
In some circumstances, the toll-free telephone call is transferred from the terminating telephone number to another toll-free telephone number. In this case, it is desirable to allocate telephone usage charges between the dialed toll-free telephone number and the toll-free telephone number to which the toll-free telephone call was transferred or conferenced. In one case, portions of the toll-free telephone call usage for each toll-free telephone number is billed at respective SSPs of the telephone network handling respective legs of the toll-free telephone call. However, such billing consumes public switched telephone network (PSTN) resources, and renders re-association of the billing records for the various call legs difficult.